CNN anchor Jake Tapper blasted the Trump administration for withholding information about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying questions about the company the disgraced financier kept will persist.
“There might not be a list, but there are certainly files that can be released,” Tapper said on his evening newscast Tuesday. “There’s a trove of information that the Trump administration is right now refusing to share, information that could well point to the powerful folks who availed themselves of the sex trafficking victims of Jeffrey Epstein.”
The anchor’s comments were first highlighted by Mediaite.
The Department of Justice said in a memo Monday that Epstein kept no “client list” and it would not be releasing any more information about his cases, also saying there is no evidence to suggest his 2019 death by suicide in prison was actually the result of foul play.
Epstein’s death and the company he kept before he was arrested have fueled conspiracy theories for years, particularly online among right-wing influencers and media personalities. Officials say he died by suicide.
Tapper blasted figures in Trump’s administration for “ginning up the controversy before President Trump was re-elected,” and then declaring his case “case closed.”
“This isn’t going to go away,” the anchor said. “The public, you, you’re being played for fools here.”
President Trump erupted at a question about Epstein during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, suggesting talking about the case was a “waste” of time.
